Ice-box or refrigerator.



No. 732,440. V PATENTBD JUNE 30, 1903.

P. 0. 'PERSHING.

ICE BOX 0R REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.4. 1902.

n II II E ..,..1H IIIIIl l I I WI m "u 'v' w w 2 r 1 UNITED STATES Patented an... 30,1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ICE-BOX OR REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,440, dated June 30, 1903. I

Application filed December 4, 1902. Serial No. 133,839. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN O. PERSHING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ice-Boxes or Refrigerators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ice boxes or refrigerators of that class in which the ice can 7 be properly deposited without danger of the ice-chips dropping down into the rabbet of the door and interfering with the proper closing of the latter and which enables the housewife to arrange the box or refrigerator to receive theblock of ice without the necessity of removing the contents; and my object is to produce a structure of this character which is of simple, strong, durable, and cheap construction.

To this end the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,in which' Figure 1 represents aperspective view of alower or ice chamberd, though this arbitrary location of such chambers is immaterial. In ice-boxes the ice is usually placed at the bottom, whereas inrefrigerators it-is generally contained in a chamber at the top. In either case one of the vertical walls is provided with a door-opening 5,the rabbet at the lower side of said opening 'beingdeeper than at the top and sides, so as to form an upwardly-projecting ledge 6, having its inner corner removed, as at 7, concentrically of the hinge 8 of the door, this sloping or grooved side 7 tending to deflect ice-chippings into the box or refrigerator, and thus prevent them from collecting in the rabbet 9 at the outer side'of the ledge 6.

The door 10 is mounted on hinge 8 at its lower edge and is of sufficient thickness when As shown, the box or refitted into the rabbet to engage opening 5 and overlie ledge 6. At its inner side it is reinforced by a table 11, lined with sheet metal by preference, asat 12, so as to provide a durable wearing-surface and one over which the ice may be readily slid. The said table and its lining project beyond the lower edge of the door, as at 13, so as to lap and project below the inner side of ledge-6 when the door is closed and inwardly above the outeredge of said ledge when the door is open, as shown in full lines, Fig. 1, and dotted lines, Fig. 2, and in order that the grate or shelf 14: for the ice shall not prevent the table extension 13 from occupying the position shown at the inner side of the ledge it is foreshortened and equipped with a forwardlyprojecting plate 15, which bears against ledge 6 and underlies said table. By this construction and disposition of the grate and plate the possibility of the former slipping forward and getting in the'way of said table when the door is opening or closing is obviated.

16 designates a pair of lugs or plates secured to plate 12 near its upper corners and pivotally connected to the ends of a pair of hooks 17,said hooks extendingloosely through a pair of loops 18, secured to the inner side walls of the box or refrigerator. When the door is closed, said hooks are supported in approximately a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 2, and as the dooris opened slide outwardly and downwardly until their bent ends engage said loops, and thereby arrest the movement of the door, the parts being so proportioned that the door shall preferably when opened slope downwardly toward the refrigerator to the end thatthe ice, as at A, may be easily and quickly slipped into the communicating chamber, and in this connectable to lie snugly against the inner side of the ledge when the door is closed, it being obvious that the table could not occupy this position if the inner corner of the ledge were left intact.

An ice-box or refrigerator thus equipped should have a more extended period of service than one wherein L-heiceman is compelled to lift the ice and endanger the box or refrigerator by dropping it forcibly therein, as frequently occurs. Furthermore, the disposition of the ice therein is rendered less laborious, because it is unnecessary to lift it to the same height. Another feature of advantage over the ordinary ice-box equipment lies in the fact that the housewife is not compelled to remove the contents of the box each time ice is placed therein, as must necessarily be the case where the ice is inserted from above.

I am aware that the idea ofa door to act as a shelf or table to facilitate the insertion of ice in an ice-box or refrigerator is not new, and I do not claim such construction, my claim relating peculiarly to the relation of parts whereby the ice may be easily and quickly slipped into place and the chips be compelled to fall into the refrigerator at the same time or as the door is closed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An ice-box or refrigerator, provided with an opening in one of its vertical walls and a ledge projecting upwardly from the bottom of said opening, a door to close said opening and hinged to the box or refrigerator at the lower margin of said opening, and provided with a table secured to the inner side and formed with an extension to overhang said ledge when the door is open, or to lie inward of said ledge when the door is closed,in combination with a grate or shelf arranged below the opening to support the ice, and provided with means to hold its front edge at some distance inward of the ledge so as to leave clear the path of movement of the table extension.

2. An ice-box or refrigerator provided with an opening in one of its vertical walls and a ledge projecting upwardly from the bottom of said opening and having its inner corner removed, a door to close said opening and hinged to the box or refrigerator concentrically of said removed corner, and provided with a table secured to its inner side and formed with an extension to overhang said ledge when the door is opened, or to fit against the inner side of said ledge when the door is closed, in combination with a grate or shelf havinga plate projecting beyond its front end and bearing against the inner side of the ledge.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANKLIN C. PERSI-IING.

Witnesses:

H. C. RODGERS, G. Y. 'lHoRPE. 

